Locked Folders

[MacGuffin]

So I have a mac laptop (though I don't remember the make and model); it's about three and a half years old. No one uses it but me, as it is my personal laptop. However, I do live with people who could technically access it if they wished.

I have some files on my computer that I would not like discovered by others. These are not files I wish to delete, but I do wish to be able to lock them.

I googled how to create a protected file on a mac and did as it instructed (which is basically looking at properties of a specific folder and checking "locked"), but here is the problem: It only locks them from what would be a guest or other user account, when of course, my account is the admin account and it's the only one on the computer. Is there anyway to lock a folder on a mac from inside the admin account, so that I would have to enter a password just to see it?

I thought about creating another user account and just password protecting this one, but that seems rather suspicious. Also, "logging off" doesn't work on my mac, because I log off but when I turn the computer back on it doesn't present a password screen; it goes straight to my account.

Any suggestions?

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

I would suggest "locking" the folder with a password. If you want to be extra secure, then download a free program, such as TrueCrypt 7.0 (or newer version). The program has several advantages versus simply putting a password protection on the folder. First, you can create a "hidden drive", meaning someone else cannot see that drive or its contents. In order to access it, you have to open the program, find the drive letter (A-Z), then enter the password, which if memory serves, has to be at least 20 characters. Second, you can use the program to encrypt your entire system for added protection. Third, if someone were to load the program, there's no history log so they cannot retrace what you did in order to open the desired folders. The only downside is if you forget the password, you're fucked because hacking through it is not easy. I suggest writing it down, either in your phone, creating a notepad document and naming it something obscure but easy to remember, etc... .

You can also alter your computer set up so when you turn the computer on it goes to a password screen. I'm not sure how to do that and it may be different on PCs than Macs.

[how.we.operate.]

Originally Posted by Superstar

I have some files on my computer that I would not like discovered by others.

Ok I get what you mean here. One thing you can do is check your System Preferences to see if file sharing is enabled (if so disable it). This prevents people from being able to connect to your computer and see your files. Another thing that you can do is edit the spotlight preferences to not look in the folders these files are in. This makes it so that all the files inside are unsearchable and you must manually go to that folder.

Originally Posted by Superstar

I googled how to create a protected file on a mac and did as it instructed (which is basically looking at properties of a specific folder and checking "locked"), but here is the problem: It only locks them from what would be a guest or other user account, when of course, my account is the admin account and it's the only one on the computer. Is there anyway to lock a folder on a mac from inside the admin account, so that I would have to enter a password just to see it?

Try googling "lock mac files with password". This gives you basically what you are looking for - it seems to be that you need some application or widget that locks the files. I would recommend making the password to lock the files different from your admin/system password.

Originally Posted by Superstar

Also, "logging off" doesn't work on my mac, because I log off but when I turn the computer back on it doesn't present a password screen; it goes straight to my account.

To change the settings for this, go to System Preferences->Security and Privacy->go to the General tab. Here is where you edit things:
1. Check "Require password (pull down menu) after sleep or screen saver begins" - set this to immediately if you want it to lock right when the screen saver starts or when the computer is shut. You can set this to be X minutes but your computer will wait that amount of time before it locks.
2. Disable automatic login - I'm not sure if you have this enabled or not yet, but if this is checked, then it means when you restart it won't automatically log you in (takes you to the login screen).
3. You can set a timer to say if you have been inactive for X minutes then log me out by checking the "Log out after X minutes of inactivity" NOTE that this will close what you are working on (also depends on the OS you are running).